It turns out that when you take your EnduraQ is just as important as how much you’re taking. For maximal benefits, EnduraQ should be taken in divided doses throughout the day (morning, afternoon, and evening). When exercising, EnduraQ should be taken once in the morning and once in the evening, as well as one hour before, during, and one hour after exercise.
There are a few reasons for this. In many of the earlier quercetin studies, the initial results the researchers observed were disappointing. Test subjects did not show significant improvements in post-exercise inflammation, immune dysfunction, and oxidative stress like they were expected to. Instead of assuming that the quercetin was ineffective, the researchers began to wonder about the absorption, bioavailability, and half-life of quercetin. As we often mention, we now know that the body cannot easily absorb quercetin. Fortunately, EnduraQ solves this problem because it is 17x more bioavailable and absorbable.
But what about the half-life? The researchers eventually realized that in many of the first studies, the last dose of quercetin was taken 10-24 hours before the participants began exercise. They hypothesized that this extended period of time might have exceeded the half-life of quercetin. There are varying opinions on what the half-life of quercetin is. Some say it may be as short as 3.5 hours. Dr. David Nieman believes the half-life to be 12 hours, so dosing twice daily or throughout the day is ideal. Regardless of whether quercetin’s half-life is 3 hours or 13 hours, we know that it isn’t beneficial to take a large dose all at once.
Another reason for taking your EnduraQ in divided doses throughout the day, and close to your exercise sessions, is because of the effect antioxidants can have on your body’s natural response to exercise. As discussed in our last blog, 1,000 mg is the highest dose of EnduraQ that we recommend. This is because quercetin is an antioxidant, and when taken in too high of doses, antioxidants can actually become oxidizers. This would completely blunt the body’s oxidative stress response to exercise, which is bad because it forces the body to use carbohydrates and blocks it’s ability to use fat. For this reason, researchers like Charles Dumke believe that several doses in small amounts throughout the day is most beneficial, because it will weaken the oxidative stress response without completely blunting it.
In our next blog, we will explain how to further increase EnduraQ’s effectiveness and maximize benefits by taking it with other antioxidants.